UK Diving » NorfolkJune08

June was a very busy month... We held a Seasearch Observer course with 19 keen divers and (unfortunately) no diving, a Nudibranch ID course with Jim Anderson who travelled down from Scotland to tutor and still (frustratingly) no diving and then we were invited out by Mick from NEDSAC and all of a sudden there was vis off Cley and impossible numbers of nudibranches off Sea Palling. At last the East coast was open again! These galleries show all of that...
	Seasearch Observer The Observer course was the biggest we've ever run - 19 divers and good ones too! Mostly local but some from miles away. Sadly we disappointed them when the diving was blown out but know that several have been out since and we'll have more diving for them as soon as we can. The photos are mostly from the chartwork games on the course which gave most people a good mental workout.
	Seasearch Slug course The Nudibranch ID course was our first attempt at a Seasearch Specialist course, we were very lucky to have Jim Anderson (of Scottish Nudibranches fame) as tutor and he kept us educated and entertained even though we were still unable to dive off Cley. Dawn was heroic buoying the Vera in case there was vis and making a 15 minute solo dive to retrieve a little study material - she was picking pebbles out of her teeth for days. To compensate for the lack of diving we went rock pooling at West Runton, apparently this was the way the Victorians found their sea slugs but we weren't so lucky... not a single one turned up.
	Cley We never meant to be diving Cley, and even on the day it was a bit of a mistake on my part but at last in shore vis is back off Norfolk! We were invited to dive by Mick of NEDSAC and thrilled at the chance to enjoy some club RIB diving again, unfortunately their boats arrived but their Weybourne launch did not and they were left high and dry so with almost no time before slack we decamped to Cley. Once there I realised my mistake it was low tide and so I was dreading a gloomy, murky dive but we were treated to 4-5m of vis and our first look at the Vera for 7 months. A lot had changed - all the mussels were gone, explaining the mass starfish strandings over the winter, a lot more of the wreck had been uncovered, maybe doubling its area, and we found very few nudibraches although there was one we've never seen in Norfolk before. We cursed not taking our cameras in for the first dive and didn't find that one again.
	Sea Palling On Sunday we moved to Sea Palling with NEDSAC. Although the sea was a little lumpy and several breakfasts got a little lively we were delivered to the Ethel in perfect slack at the first attempt - stunningly good service. We have 'fond' memories of our first dive off Sea Palling where we were trying our new drysuits for the first time and spent 30 minute hanging onto the shot and the Ludlow like flags. Thanks very much to skipper Dave, and the rest of NEDSAC for making us so welcome. It was a brilliant dive, the vis was good and the upright wreck was covered (I'm not exaggerating) in nudibranches. There were thousands covering everything - I went into utter photography overload. The gallery isn't very varied at all. Nearly every shot is a slug and nearly all of them are Dendronotus frondosus. The highlight of the dive was a beautiful Eubranchus farrani we've never seen before (the cover slug on the book of British Nudibranches) closely followed by the copious supplies of gummi bears on the trip back! We were thrilled to see several of the divers who had been on our recent Seasearch courses going out with their clubs too and so our forms will not be the first back from this part of the coast.

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